Purple patch: Where to find UQ's best locations for jacaranda photos

It’s October, and for anyone who has studied at St Lucia, Gatton or Herston, you’ll know that it’s a magical time of the year to be on campus – exams aside!

Jacaranda trees are in full bloom, and the lawns and paths are carpeted with their velvet-soft petals. It’s the perfect time to take a stroll around all 3 of UQ’s campuses and take some epic photos.

To get you started, Contact has compiled a list of the best jacaranda walks you can enjoy at UQ this spring.

St Lucia campus

Great Court lawn – picnic loop

Park by the newly renamed Feeney Way (formerly University Drive) and make your way through the entrance of the Forgan Smith building. From here, step out into the iconic Great Court. To avoid stairs, an accessible path can be taken from Mansfield Place (disabled parking is available near the Anthropology Museum). Once inside the Great Court, a quick lap between the cloisters is in order before picking out a spot under a jacaranda to lay out your picnic rug.

*Image: Camille Brandon*

*Image: Camille Brandon*

Stroll by the water

Park on College Road, or catch a bus and hop off at UQ Lakes Station, for a stroll around the rolling lawns. The paths alongside the 2 smaller lakes are lined with jacaranda trees and make for some beautiful photos. Bring the kids for a fun day out. Please note, however, that UQ’s largest lake and amphitheatre are being transformed into a self-sustaining ecosystem and are currently off limits.

River loop – with bonus coffee stop

Begin your walk from Emmanuel College, and follow the river along Sir William MacGregor Drive, which is dotted with colourful jacarandas and other beautiful Australian native trees. This walk follows a smooth gravel path – perfect for a furry friend or a set of wheels, be it bike, pram or scooter. Pass under the Eleanor Schonell Bridge and continue on for a coffee at Saint Lucy caffé e cucina – open from 7am–9pm Tuesday to Sunday, and 7am–3pm Sunday and Monday. Then weave your way back to where you started, past Chancellor’s Place and the Queensland Brain Institute.

Did you know?

Parking at the St Lucia campus is free on the weekend – so pack a hamper and come back to UQ this weekend for a picnic or a coffee.

Where to find these locations at UQ's St Lucia campus.

The Great Court lawn – picnic loop

Stroll by the water

River loop – with bonus coffee

Gatton campus

Central Walkway

The Canary Island palms lining the Central Walkway at UQ’s Gatton campus were planted in the mid 1920s and give the Avenue of Palms its name. However, they are not the only trees to line the thoroughfare; a row of jacarandas burst into bloom each October, making a beautiful backdrop for photos alongside the historic Homestead building, which was established in 1897.

*Image: Katrina Shimmin-Clarke*

*Image: Katrina Shimmin-Clarke*

Community Garden and lake loop

Along Galletly Road you will find the UQ Gatton Community Garden, as well as 2 lakes – Lake Galletly and Lake Lenor. Both lakes were designed and built by Jim Galletly, a former student in the 1940s, later becoming a staff member. Jacarandas are dotted along the road here and the garden is a great spot to stop and smell the herbs and edible flowers.

Herston campus

Image of a person in shorts and a sweater swinging on a child's palyground swing under a jacaranda tree in full bloom. There are lots of purplr flowers on the ground.

Image: Diana Mulholland

Herston hike

Just over the road from the UQ Herston campus is Victoria Park/Barrambin. Here you will find a jacarandas atop rolling lawns – perfect for ‘Instagrammable’ Brisbane content. Once you’re done walking the grounds, cross the road for a look at some marvellous medical history at the Marks-Hirschfeld Museum of Medical History (open Thursdays and Tuesdays between 9am and 12pm).